December 4, 2010
I must be cruel to be kind
This Old Poem Those familiar with the long-running PBS TV series This Old House may be able to discern where I am going with this series of essays. Basically, I seek to rehabilitate (by rewriting) well-known poems.... [more inside]
"More Nukes, Less Kooks"
Fusion Magazine and The International Journal of Fusion Energy Research were popular publications of the Fusion Energy Foundation, ostensibly an organization devoted to "foster and support research and development for fusion as a new energy source." [more inside]
1) Ingest hallucinogen, 2) Press play
Reclaim your emotional baggage
"I write the advice that I wish I’d had when I had low self-esteem and a penchant for dating the same guy in a different package. The blog is predominantly aimed at women but I do have a lot of male readers too and my advice is relevant to everyone who has found themselves in a cycle of pain and a bad relationship pattern."
Natalie Lue, blogger and author, on why she started her site, BaggageReclaim. [more inside]
Pepsi Blue Custom Playing Cards
Most cards in North America are made by United States Playing Card Company (USPC) which owns Bicycle, Bee, Tally-Ho (favored by Penn and Teller), Hoyle, and KEM(notably 100% plastic). USPC helped the WWII war effort with its production of playing cards with hidden maps. [more inside]
Cursed By Gold
Georgina Cranston travelled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to photograph the women who work deep inside some of the country's disused gold mines. [more inside]
There's ALWAYS room for Jello.
Sugaring is never that far off
Old man winter has arrived. That means sugaring season and maple syrup (pdf) production is not that far away. Creamed, crystalized or liquid, there are treats for everyone. Previously
"'It became necessary to destroy the town to save it,' a United States major said today"
Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the lefty Jewish magazine Tikkun, wants to save Obama -- by primarying him from the left.
New Weird Australia
New Weird Australia is a not-for-profit, government-sponsored initiative promoting new eclectic & experimental music - plenty of free downloads & podcasts are available on the site.
In living color
Taichung’s Rainbow Family Village - this formerly drab neighborhood was whimsically transformed by 86-year-old veteran Huang Yung-fu's colorful artwork, becoming a minor tourist attraction and a popular location for photo shoots. And while most Taiwanese military dependent villages are scheduled for demolition, an online campaign won a promise by the city's mayor to preserve the painted village.
A is for Ackbar
How to crash JP Morgan
Max Keiser (previously) writes in the Guardian about a strategy to try and cause JP Morgan to crash; a strategy which he encourages. [more inside]
National Academy as National Enquirer?
Caterpillars evolved from onychophorans by hybridogenesis. Caterpillars did not evolve from onychophorans by hybridogenesis. [more inside]
In the face of contradictory evidence
From the journal Nutrition, a paper(pdf) criticizing the new American dietary guidelines. [more inside]
the science^H^H^H^H^H^H^H public understanding of humankind
"The purposes of the Association shall be to advanceAt this year's meeting of the American Anthropological Association, the organization's board adopted a new mission statement whose description of its goals omitted all mention of anthropology as a science. An online debate ensued. Some researchers in the anthropological sciences are upset about the changes, while right-wing culture warriors see it as another salvo in the "science wars" or the takeover of the discipline by "fluff-head cultural anthropological types who think science is just another way of knowing." Other anthropologists think this is an opportunity to broaden the discipline and embrace non-scientific forms of knowledge. [more inside]anthropology as the science that studiespublic understanding of humankind in all its aspects."
Happy December! Happy Reading!
The December Lights Project: A short story archive An archive of fanciful, feel-good stories that will keep updating throughout December. These are tremendous fun if you like scifi, magic and fantasy.
One of my favorites so far is Queen of the Kitchen, by Karen Healey.
Well, he was smilin’ like a vulture as he rolled up the horticulture
Out on bail, fresh outta jail, California dreamin’
Soon as I stepped on the scene, I’m hearin’ hoochies screamin’
What a surprise to read that couplet on "The New Yorker's" website, in an article about Jay-Z's new book. It also discusses Adam Bradley's "Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop," an academic study that respects rap lyrics as serious poetry. [more inside]
Soon as I stepped on the scene, I’m hearin’ hoochies screamin’
What a surprise to read that couplet on "The New Yorker's" website, in an article about Jay-Z's new book. It also discusses Adam Bradley's "Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop," an academic study that respects rap lyrics as serious poetry. [more inside]
the bird is the word
Excuse me, have you heard the word? (SLVimeo, Possibly NSFW or sanity)
a long-lasting lunch break
Bored of Ke$ha, Fergie, and their various American contemporaries performing "hip-hop"-"tinged" "pop"? Say "alo" to apple-cheeked Romanian-German star Miss Platnum. Maybe start with Mercedes-Benz and She Moved In, before moving on to her earliest and biggest hit, Give Me the Food. [more inside]
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